The Pulse: Oct. 2, 2024

Korean restaurant NongBu is now permanently closed, but its legacy of introducing Edmontonians to a broader array of Korean dishes will live on.

NongBu announced its closure in September, after nearly a decade in business just south of Whyte Avenue. It received many accolades after it opened in 2015, including Best New Restaurant in 2016 from Avenue Edmonton (now Edify).

Owner John Ahn was inspired to open NongBu to share the Korean food he was exposed to growing up, as prepared by his mother. "One of my big motivating factors was the lack of variety of Korean food in Edmonton," Ahn told Taproot. "I wanted to show people home cooking, and that Korean food could be more than bibimbap and bulgogi — old-style cooking, cooking without additives, with better ingredients, and making everything fresh."

When NongBu opened, it was originally set up as a Korean knife cut noodle restaurant. "We were making fresh noodles every day, and I worked on a series of broths," Ahn said. "But no one was ordering the noodles. Everyone was ordering the sides."

Over time, NongBu expanded its street food offerings, and Ahn said he held out for four years before making the difficult decision to add bibimbap and bulgogi to the menu. "It made us successful but it broke my heart that it was all people were ordering," Ahn said.

In hindsight, he admitted staff could have better explained the ingredients being used, and how the dishes should be enjoyed. "For our lettuce wraps, we were bringing in soybean paste that was being made by nuns on the coast of Korea," Ahn said. "They would dehydrate it for us and it came by boat, and we would rehydrate it. But we were throwing it away because people wouldn't eat it. People thought it was like ketchup. In hindsight we should have gotten our servers to teach people."

NongBu nonetheless paved the way for more Korean establishments offering more than bibimbap and bulgogi. This includes places focused on Korean street food, such as Gangnam Street Food, which first opened in 2019, late-night drinking spots such as Hanjan, opened in 2017, and JMT Korean Cuisine, which opened in 2023, and most recently, Sang, offering hanjeongsik, a meal characterized by side dishes.

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi launched a new campaign urging Edmontonians to demand the Alberta government pay its full property taxes on provincial buildings in the city. The Fair Compensation Project highlights the $80 million shortfall since 2019 caused by the province paying only half its property tax. While launching the campaign, Sohi emphasized the need for fair compensation to address the city's deficit and minimize future tax increases. The campaign website includes a letter residents can sign and send to the province.
• Edmonton city council approved a rezoning proposal for a new 31-storey tower on Jasper Avenue. Council passed the bylaw with an 8-4 vote, which will allow the proposed development to replace a surface parking lot at 12021 Jasper Avenue NW beside an existing tower. Residents expressed worries about increased traffic, construction disruption, and the strain on local parking, but administration said the project would increase density in a well-connected area.
• Edmonton Startup Week will host its 15th annual Launch Party on Oct. 16 at Fan Park at the Ice District. The event will celebrate local startups with a Canadian bush party theme, featuring flannel, toques, fire pits, and live music. Since 2010, the event has showcased more than 120 Edmonton-based tech companies, including DrugBank, Drivewyze, Showbie, and Jobber. Tickets are available online.
• Edmonton is set to open North America's first indoor triathlon training facility in 2026 at the Coronation Community Recreation Centre. The centre will offer swimming, cycling, and running training all under one roof. The facility will also have volleyball, basketball, and badminton courts, along with fitness areas and multipurpose spaces.
• Edify Edmonton published a profile of interim city manager Eddie Robar, who is faced with advising city council on how to reduce a looming 13% tax hike for 2025. With a maintenance shortfall in the billions, inflation pressures, and pandemic-related setbacks, Robar must find ways to balance the budget while maintaining essential services like transit and infrastructure, journalist Steven Sandor wrote in the article. Robar, who previously worked in operations, said he brings a fresh perspective to the role, and is focused on creating long-term sustainability and addressing structural budget issues.
• Earth's General Store announced it has closed for good after a last-ditch effort to raise enough funds to continue operating was unsuccessful. The store's owners announced online that all money raised through a GoFundMe campaign will be refunded.
• The newest academic building at Concordia University of Edmonton will be named Braaksma Hall to honour the Braaksma family, who are one of the post-secondary institution's largest donors and provided its largest-ever donation of more than $1.4 million in 2021. The $40-million building includes lecture halls, labs, and other learning spaces.
• Alberta's insurance regulator has issued a warning about unlicensed "ghost brokers" fraudulently selling car insurance, often targeting newcomers and people unfamiliar with the system. The scammers offer seemingly cheap insurance deals online or over the phone, but provide fake policies that leave victims uninsured. Consumers are advised to verify the legitimacy of insurance agents and watch for red flags such as upfront fees and unusually low rates.
• The Edmonton Oilers reduced their training camp roster on Oct. 1 by assigning six players to other teams. Phil Kemp, Ben Gleason, Collin Delia, and Lane Pederson were placed on waivers for assignment to the Bakersfield Condors, while James Hamblin was loaned to Bakersfield and Beau Akey to the Barrie Colts.

On this day in 1975, a fashion fundraiser was being advertised to support opera in Edmonton.

The Fall Fashion show, held at Edmonton's Plaza Hotel (now the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel), was held by the city's opera guild, a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the city's opera company.

Opera has been a part of Edmonton's history since the early 1900s but has taken many different forms along the way. The first was the Edmonton Amateur Operatic Society, founded by Vernon Barford, a farmer turned choirmaster. The society staged The Chimes of Normandy, their first production, in 1904.

Over the next half century, Edmonton played host to many amateur opera companies of various sizes. Then, in 1963, Jean Létourneau founded the Edmonton Professional Opera Association and served as its first artistic director. It was one of the first professional operas in Western Canada. Its first production was the classic Madama Butterfly.

In 1965, Létourneau was succeeded by Irving Guttman, one of the most influential figures in Canadian opera history. In 1960, after studying performance and directing in Quebec and Toronto, Guttman became the founding artistic director of the Vancouver Opera. He kept that job when he joined Edmonton's operation in 1965 (indeed, not content with splitting himself between opera companies in two cities, he was also involved with the founding of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan operas, as well as Calgary's company).

The early years of the Edmonton Opera saw success. Crowds were sizable and international talent was brought in to perform in front of them. By 1972, the company had a base of about 6,000 subscribers.

The Edmonton company worked to reach people beyond the theatre, too. It collaborated with the CBC to bring productions to national radio audiences, twice winning a Canadian Music Award for Best Opera Broadcast in 1977 and 1978. The company also ran a touring opera educational program from 1973 to 1984 that saw it bring performances to schools. Over this time, the group provided training, mentoring, and support to emerging opera performers.

Guttman stayed on as the Edmonton Opera's artistic director for more than 30 years before retiring in 1998.

In recent years, the company (now named the Edmonton Opera) has had to adjust. As with many arts organizations, it weathered the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created, which linger. Opera is less popular than in previous decades as well. The organization is currently making a push to attract new audiences. Earlier this year, the opera joined with other artistic organizations to host free performances targeted at younger audiences.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Gold Rush Team Roping starting at 8am at Edmonton EXPO Centre
• Canadian Country Expo Trade Show starting at 11am at Edmonton EXPO Centre
• The Great Canadian Finals Rodeo Chili Cook-Off starting at 11:30am at Art Gallery of Alberta
• Invest Alberta Stakeholder Roundtable - A Team Alberta Approach starting at 2:30pm at City of Edmonton Tower
• CFR Tailgate Party starting at 4pm at ICE District Plaza
• VERS/E: Queer Poetry Open Mic Featuring Rayanne Haines starting at 6pm at Felice Cafe
• Mad Cool Vino Español starting at 7pm at Winspear Centre
• Learning to Read, How and What: with Speech Language Pathologist Lyndsay Bourdeau starting at 7pm at St. Albert Public Library
• Cousin Bear Comes to Visit with Halie Finney starting at 7pm at Magpie Books
• Monica Miller Memorial Lecture featuring Alissa York starting at 7:30pm at Allard Hall

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Oct. 17: Talking Archaeology at Edmonton Public Library (Strathcona)
• Oct. 19: Reuse Centre Swap Events: Halloween Costumes at City of Edmonton Reuse Centre
• Oct. 20: An Anniversary Improv Celebration at Rapid Fire Exchange

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.